TWEAKS+inspiration : Summer Projects - Done&Done

Whew. My summer projects are almost finished, just in time as fall arrives on September 22. In early August, I posted "Endless Summer Projects" - about the summer house projects that were taking forever to complete. Let's see how I did.

The original 1990 magical vanity. Covered completely in laminate, the countertop could levitate at will. P said it was impossible to glue it down. And I wanted a new faucet - the one pictured was a quick replacement when the original failed. And I dreamed of an undermount sink to match the others.

In early August, after an 8-week lead time (for the two doors under the sink), my cabinet maker produced an exact match to the other bathroom's vanity. We had that one built when we did the kitchen twenty years ago.

A few days later, fabricator Raul (right) and his crew made the quartz top from a remanent he had in his shop. The American Standard undermount sink was found on eBay. All the bathroom fixtures in the house are a 1990's color - bone. The color had been discountinued since we did the other bathrooms in 2006. Fortunately, eBay had a new one in its original box.

Two days later, the plumbers spent the day replacing six faucets (including the one at the kitchen sink). In the bathrooms, the handles on the 20-year old faucets became inoperable. I was sent handle replacement parts but they didn't fit as the style had been "improved" over the years. I felt lucky to find a similar replacement.

Last Saturday, the bathroom was painted. Now, it's ready for my overnight guests who no longer will have to weigh down the corners when the countertop lifts up - sometimes a full 12." No kidding.

The next project was replacing the primary bedroom blinding fluorescent ceiling light. I positively glowed in there. And not in a good way.

The electrician replaced the tube lighting with a glass light I bought on Wayfair. Did you know Wayfair delivers next day for free?

As predicted, removing the flurescent Ieft something I couldn't just paint over. My contractor, Jesus, brought over his texture guy who spent almost a full day re-texturing spots in the house. First up was fixing the closet ceiling. Fortunately, I didn't have to move my clothes.

I was dying to watch but knew better.

The electrician suggested a dimmer switch which, it turns out, I use a lot - especially when I'm half asleep in the dark reaching for a bathrobe.

Moving into the primary bathroom where the vanity sink faucets had already failed. I found a style that almost matches that of the bathtub.

Now I can turn on the hot water!

Moving to the kitchen, a new, more substantial faucet. Lesson learned - buy a heavy duty one the first time.

Two excellent plumbers.

Almost all finished! The painters were here last weekend but now there's a self-inflicted punch list. I innocently bought new polished chrome towel bars, etc. but when the 1990's white ones were removed, they left big circles of untextured paint. The new bars won't cover them. So now, Jesus will spray a texture on those areas to match the walls. Whew. Hope you've completed any summer projects you started. If you're like me, despite my hiccup, it's still a great feeling to get things done around the house. Enjoy your Sunday!